


Burn with Me

by Lady_Akuma_Wolf



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode 42, Gen, Nightmares, Possessed Tenth Doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-17 02:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4649184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Akuma_Wolf/pseuds/Lady_Akuma_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate Event/Ending to Episode "42". The Doctor is possessed, and when 'he' finds Martha, cornered, he does the unthinkable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_**Burn with me, Martha!** _

The roar ripped through the intercom, but also through her mind, this time. Hyperventilating, Martha glanced back over her shoulder. She could hear the Doctor – at least, what used to be the Doctor – approaching her, and fast. He wasn't him anymore. _It_ , the sun, was  _in_  him, using him… and in all likelihood killing him. She knew he had been fighting it, but he hadn't been strong enough, which was an astounding thought in and of itself. He She knew he was coming for her, she could hear him stomping down the hallway behind the door she had just shut and locked. The door she fought currently refused to budge. A groan crossed with a whimper escaped her lips as she turned around, pressing herself into the corner as much as she could, her back sliding down the heated metal.

_**"Burn with me!"** _

She could hear his footsteps now, echoing hollowly down the narrow passageway towards her position. Maybe she could hide? Martha glanced frantically around, hoping for something, anything that might help her, and in turn help the Doctor. No hiding places, no trapdoors, no cooling pipes to give the Doctor some form of means to fight the being which was occupying his body.  _Nothing_  at all.

What if the Doctor was dead, and just his body remained, a tool of the, the  _soul_  of the sun? No. No, she couldn't think like that. She couldn't  _bear_  the thought that he was no more. Not the Doctor, not the man who had given her freedom from the confines of her life and family, freeing her from the cage that was her life, and allowed her to fly. Not the man who had shown her so many wonders, worlds, races, and peoples. The Doctor would never give up on her, and she'd be damned if she'd given up on him. Martha refused to do that.

She could see him approaching her now, steadily approaching. In all honesty, there was nothing she could do, not really. Nothing she could do to force the being out of him, or help him fight. No tools at hand, except for herself.

Perhaps that would work. It was a crazy idea, insane. It scared her to death, this idea, this mad plan that grew quickly in her head. But it was all she had left. She had promised that she would save him this time. It was a promise she meant to keep.

"Doctor?" she called out. "Doctor, are you alright?"

**" _Burn with me. Burn with me, Martha!_ "**

Shakily, Martha got to her feet as he approached. "Doctor, it's me, Martha." She called. "Do you remember me? Do you know who I am?"

**" _Burn with me!"_**   the Doctor's body halted stiffly a few feet away from her.

"Doctor, can you hear me? Please, I know you can fight this!" she pleaded. "Please come back to me!"

The Doctor took a step towards her. **" _Burn with me, Martha! Burn with me!_ "**

Martha closed her eyes tightly for a moment. When she opened them, there were tears in their corners. "Doctor, I know you can fight this. I know you can! Maybe you just need the right motivation to fight harder."

**" _Burn with me, Martha!"_** he was reaching for her now **. " _Burn with me!_ "**

"Alright," She whispered, and embraced him. "I love you, Doctor. Now,  _fight,_  and live. Please, Doctor."

Then the pain smashed into her, and she screamed.

OoOoO

He had fought it for as long as he could. Held onto himself, his mind, everything that made him, well  _him_ , for as long as he could. He told Martha to freeze him, but when that failed… all he wanted to do was tell her to run.

But then…  _it_  had taken over. The sun, the creature. Every time he fought, horrible pain lanced through him. But that didn't matter. Every time he fought, he was pushed further and further inside of himself, away from everything except his vision and hearing, and his thoughts. That  _did_  matter. If he couldn't control his actions, who knew what could happen.

**" _Burn with me, Martha!"_**

_No!_  he thought, screaming at the being that had entered his body.  _Not Martha! Anyone but her_! He'd already lost Rose, whom he loved. While Martha didn't hold the same spot she had, she still… she still mattered dearly to him! He had to keep her safe! Again and again he fought against the restraints that held him inside of his body. Nothing he did worked, no control was regained. His body still was walking, and he dreaded to think where to.

**" _Burn with me!_ "**

It felt strange, his vocal cords working, his mouth speaking, and not being in control, his body moving without willing it. As… interesting as he found the situation, he'd much rather not be experiencing it at all, especially given  _who_  the sun appeared to be searching for.  _What do you want?!_  He demanded.  _Why do you search for Martha? Why her?_

There was no answer, other than grim focus on finding the chosen quarry. His Martha.

Somehow, the being occupying his body knew where to find her. It walked his body slowly down the halls, opening door after door that she had undoubtedly closed as she ran from him _. Gods_ , he thought.  _Please let her escape, or find somewhere to hide where this… thing can't find her!_

Then the next door opened, and he caught sight of her, trying to hide as she crouched, shaking, in the corner. The door must've been locked or jammed, and she'd been unable to get through.

_Leave her_! He screamed.  _She's done nothing to you! She's not a part of the crew who were stealing from you! Just leave her, she doesn't matter_! As much as he hated to, he added,  _Go after the others! They're the ones who stole from you not her! She just got here, with me! We're not a part of the crew! She's innocent!_

But all of his pleas were for nothing. If anything, they seemed to… amuse, the sun creature. It headed towards his dear Companion.  _Maybe she has a plan,_  he thought wildly. She was such a fighter, and resourceful. Maybe she was going to knock him out, or at least shove him away somehow at the last moment and escape! He sure hoped so. She called out to him, pleaded with him… then he saw the tears in her eyes. No, he whispered. Please, no. Don't give up!

**" _Burn with me. Burn with me, Martha!_ "**

She stood up, and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, the look of resolve, of pain and sadness… and of love, shot through the Doctor like a physical thing.

"Alright," whispered Martha, and embraced him. "I love you, Doctor. Now,  _fight,_  and live. Please, Doctor."

One of his hands peeled her off of him, hand closed around her throat. He loathed that feeling. Even more so as he felt his fingers closed tightly around Martha's throat. Then the opposite hand opened the eye slot, spewing light, heat and pain onto Martha. As her screams rent the air, the Doctor shoved at the bonds that kept him away from the rest of his body, ignoring the pain they caused him. He had to get control back, he had to stop this! No matter he wasn't in control of his body, he was  _killing_  her! His own stupidity, lack of strength, his lack of smarts, his lack of… everything! Martha was  _dying_  because of him. She was dying  _for_  him because she believed her death would be the spark that freed him.

**" _Burn, Martha! Burn with me!"_**

Martha reached out a shaking hand to touch the side of his mask. Choking, she whispered, "Goodbye, Doctor."

Her back arched as pain shot through her. Then she went limp.

_Nooooooooo!_

 


	2. Chapter 2

Martha's screams echoed in his head as the Doctor threw himself out of his bed, the plea still on his lips as she had fallen, limp, from his grasp onto the floor. He planted his feet on the floor, running his fingers roughly through his hair, sending it into even further disarray as he attempted to sort out dream from reality, his breathes coming in ragged arches.

Had he really killed her, had her really killed Martha? No, no no no. He remembered them escaping the grip of the sun. He and Martha had both left the small ship they'd been on, minus the captain and a couple passengers, but that was unavoidable wherever he went, all the time. Martha was alive, and safe. She had to be.  
But it had felt so real… her throat in his grip, her screams in his ears, watching her writh and fall to the floor… dead. Had it been real? No. No it couldn't be.

But, if that was the case, why did he continue to hear her screaming?

Blankets still wrapped around his waist tore off the bed as the Doctor scrambled to his feet. Yanking open his door, he bolted down the hall to the room where Martha spent her nights – at least, the ones they spent aboard the TARDIS; the screams originated from there.

Martha, her sheets wrapped tightly around her body, sweat-soaked as his own has been. The Doctor knelt on her bed, grasping her shoulders firmly. "Martha!" He shouted, shaking her. "Martha, wake up! You're dreaming,  _dreaming_ , Martha! Please, wake up!"

Her screams turned to mostly unintelligible pleas; all he could understand was his name. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and blankets clenched in her fists as her body went rigid.

The Doctor growled in frustration and helplessness. He stroked her cheek and hair, trying to calm her down. "Martha, Martha, please wake up! It's ok, we're in the TARDIS. Remember the TARDIS? Blue police box, bigger on the inside? We're safe, Martha. Please wake up!" He shook her shoulder again.

With a gasp, Martha's eyes shot open, and she shrieked, flinching away from the Doctor, falling off the opposite side of the bed. The Doctor hurried to her side, reaching out to steady her but stopped when she flinched again, breathing rapidly, eyes wide and staring at him.

The Doctor watched her warily. "Martha?" he asked gently. "Do you recognize me?"

His Companion stared at him for several moments. Finally, she nodded. "Yes." She sighed. "Yes, I do. Sorry, Doctor. Just…" she trailed off, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks, her eyes flickering down to the floor. "I had a… a nightmare." She drew her knees up to her chest. "Sorry if I woke you."

"No, no, no. No, it's ok," the Doctor reassured her. "I was already awake." He gave her a small smile, which faded. "What did you dream about?"

Martha shook her head. "Just… about what happened, back on the ship, with that – that sun creature." She shrugged. "That's all."

The Doctor raised a single brow at her. "That's all? You didn't scream like that on the ship." He touched her arm, this time not drawing back when she flinched. "There's more than what you're saying. Please, Martha, tell me what happened."

Martha rested her chin on her knees with a sigh. She thought about brushing him off, but the Doctor would just keep after her, in that concerned way of his, until she relented. He meant well, but she didn't want to upset him with what her dream had been about. She was in a lose-lose situation. Well, he had asked her. He would understand, wouldn't he?

After a moment, she said, "It was about the sun creature, like I said. And you, being possessed by it. But… things went differently than they really did." Her lips pressed tightly together. "A lot differently."

The Doctor scowled inwardly. He could see where this was going. Cautiously, he sat down next to her, taking her hands in his own. "I attacked you, didn't I?" he asked softly. "In your dream, I hurt you, didn't I?" A quiet sob was all the confirmation he needed. "You know I'd never willingly do that to you!" He squeezed her hands for emphasis. "Never! It was just a dream, Martha."

Martha shrugged, her eyes still on the floor. "I know, Doctor. But… it was so, so real." She glanced up at him briefly. "You, possessed, were real. My fear, was real. My  _pain_  was real. So very real."

The Doctor slipped his arms around her shoulders, indulging them both in a rare form of physical contact. They both needed it. He pressed his cheek to her forehead. "I dreamed that, too. That's why I was awake when I heard you screaming." He let out a sigh of his own. "Just like when we truly were on the spaceship, when I was possessed, I could still feel, see and hear what was going on." He drew in a shaky breath. "In my dream… I attacked you, maybe even killed you." He tightened his grip around her. "I couldn't do anything to stop it from happening."

In his arms, Martha was shaking. Twisting his neck, the Doctor could see her eyes were wide and staring at the far wall. They were devoid of tears now, but there was something else there, something she hadn't spoken of yet. He returned his head to hers, tightening his grip. He had seen her face down aliens, humans, even him… and never show this amount of fear. Was it of him? Given, she had every right to be, after what had happened, both on the ship and in her dream. But was it something more, was it because he was male? He knew she didn't have a special someone back in her time. Never even mentioned ever having one. Had someone hurt her before? The Doctor could feel his teeth clenching as his mind, well-travelled as it was, even just in the human worlds, to know what could happen to a young woman. If someone had… he'd find them, and –

"I'm sorry, Doctor."

Broken from his train of thoughts, the Doctor tried to remember if she'd said anything before that he might've missed. "Sorry? Sorry for what? Your nightmare?"

She took a deep breath. "Yeah. Just… I really, really hate fire."

That brought him up short. "Fire? What's so bad about fire? Sure it destroys everything it touches, but it also brings life."

"When I was little, six years old, my mother lit some candles, and then left the room. My brother got curious about them, how she'd been able to light them. Then he found the lighter. He started running around with it, clicking it on and off. He ran by the drapes I was hiding behind, and they caught fire. I had burns on my skull, neck, arm and back. It took years and loads of surgeries to reverse the damage. I've hated and feared fire ever since." She sighed. "And then that sun… and you…"

The Doctor tightened his arms around her, slipping her head against his shoulder. He closed his eyes tightly. "Oh, Martha I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I'd never have brought you there."

Martha shrugged. "You didn't know, Doctor. It's ok. I should be over it by now anyways."

"Nah! Not necessarily. Fears sometimes stay with us for a very long time, sometimes forever. As long as you don't let that fear have constant control over you, let it manage your life, let it control  _you_ , that's what's important."

"What do you fear, Doctor?" The words left her mouth before she could stop them. Horrified, Martha added, "Sorry, Doctor. That wasn't polite of me to ask." She tried to sit up, but the Doctor still held her.

"It's alright, Martha." He said softly. "Everyone has a fear, even a Timelord like myself." He stopped for a moment. In the distance, he could hear the TARDIS engines, their steady beats a comforting sound that was always there. But what was in his arms, safe and alive, was fleeting, and no matter how hard he clung, his Companions always moved on, for one reason or another.

Always.

They each meant something different to him, each brought their own spunk to their adventures. They all mattered dearly to him, and gave him what he desperately craved.

Companionship. Relief from travelling alone.

Alone.


End file.
